The 2007 Bali UNFCCC meeting (CoP-13) agreed on “the urgent need to take further meaningful action to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation”. With this, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) came into being as a mechanism that provides incentives for developing countries to make emission reductions where, in many situations, forest are considered worth more when cut than standing. At its core, REDD+ seeks to change incentive structures in favour of protecting forests so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also deliver "co-benefits" including biodiversity conservation and social improvement. But how does it work on the ground? How do you deal with the intractable drivers of deforestation while retaining local community support and enhancing their livelihoods? What are the philosophical issues surrounding this core idea? What are the practical issues, opportunities and challenges, and how do they scale from the local (project) level to national or jurisdictional scales? This talk will broach some of these issues, and illustrate how REDD+ projects actually function using an example from the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, SE Kenya.